Need seats for newborn twins, was, Re: List of High Weight seats in Canada

U

Unregistered

Guest
Would someone mind helping me out here, we are in Canada. I have a three and half year old son who started in a Marathon RF but we bought him a Radian XT last spring so he could stay RF longer. Now I am expecting twins in June. I'm trying to figure out what carseats to buy them. I know it's early but the Marathons are on sale and I would save $180 for two. I'm just not sure it's worth it? Because I'd lose a year of use for them. Plus I would potentially be faced with the same issue of extended RF, and I'm not about to buy two other carseats! It's just that the Marathon seems to be so much more "carseat" if that makes sense. I know they all have to pass safety ratings but it still feels safer to me and was recommended by a carseat tech here in Calgary.

How long do average size/weight children last in these carseats? I'm not concerned weight-wise, but rather height-wise. If they will grow out of their carseats heightwise anyways before the six years is up, then would it be recommended to go ahead and buy these two marathons now? It would mean they would be 5 when they expired I think (or maybe 4 1/2 still haven't figured that out, they were manufactured late 2010). Or should I forget the marathons all together and just get two more Radian XTs next winter when they grow out of their baby seats?

Or if someone has a better suggestion I'd love to hear it. Thanks so much!
 
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featherhead

Well-known member
I would definitely wait. At this point you don't know how they will grow. Are they going to be really tall and skinny or short and fat, etc. Do you have infant seats yet? Most twins will not fit in most convertible carseats from newborn, cause the harness doesn't go low/tight enough. If you get a larger infant seat, like the Snugride 35 which fits tiny babies exceptionally well, you should have a good long time before you need to think about convertibles. Who knows, maybe we'll have something new and exciting out by then:)
 

canadiangie

New member
The sales are all so tempting! That said, you may regret losing all that lifespan, especially if the twins are smaller and do make it to age 5+ in their seats. Do remember that new britax seats have a 7 year lifespan, not 6. In terms of when most children outgrow the new britax seats rear facing, it's seeming right around age 3, and then forward facing anywhere from age 4 on. I think beyond that though there are other things to think about. Britax seats don't offer the legroom that other seats do. If you're doing a 3 across your backseat britax may not be your best bet.

Have you considered moving your oldest into a combination seat (britax frontier xt or graco nautilus), getting another radian and passing the remaining radian to the other twin? Assuming you're able to get everything installed properly, this would be the route I would go. :)
 

mommycat

Well-known member
I would wait, for all the reasons already listed. When one of the three starts to get close to needing a new seat, re-assess the situation, see what's out there for seats and start looking for sales. But having seats sitting around taking up space and wasting their life seems to me to be a shame. As mentioned, depending on how they grow and which infant seats you get, you may not need to look at getting new seats for another year or close to two. (Pretty average-sized DS2 rode in his SS1 - the precursor to the SR35 - until 18mo, and twins are often on the smaller side.)
 

amyd

New member
I would do the same as Angie & look at a combination seat for your oldest when the babies outgrow the infant seats. Then you would only need to purchase 1 more Radian. What do you drive?
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Re: Need seats for newborn twins

Thanks for the responses!

Those are a lot of different things to consider that I hadn’t thought of. This is quite the science.. We are likely going to put them in my husband’s truck, all in a row, with lots of leg room and plenty of space.

So they last about 5 years + in their carseats FF. So if I understand correctly, even if I did buy the marathons right now, they would have grown out of them anyways by the time expire (7 years)? That would give them until they are 6 before expiry. That might make the early investment worth it.... good point about maybe there being something newer a year from now though. For infant seats I do have my son’s old one and a friend gave me hers so a snugride 35 would not be the best option for us.

I have to say that installing a radian RF is one of the most unpleasant experiences we’ve had, even if it does go higher. The marathon is so much easier.

I also hadn’t really thought about what the next step will be for my son, I guess I assumed I could keep him in a five point harness forever! I’d rather he travel like that as long as he can, but when do kids normally move into a booster seat? I thought the convertibles (I assume you mean converts from five point harness to booster) did not allow for the five point harness feature to be used as long – rather if that is the goal then it’s better to buy them separately, but maybe I’m wrong about that.

Right now my son rides in both our vehicles so he needs two carseats. The truck is safer than the van though, but he is the only one right now, and sits in the middle. I guess I feel like that gives him some extra safety. I don’t feel comfortable with him riding along the side or in the back seat of the van, there are no airbags along the side, and his head is way too close to the back/roof of the van for my liking back there. So we will need to keep that one radian for him too (being that he’s four years older I can definitely see my husband taking just him somewhere in the van).

Thanks for all these things to consider! I really appreciate the responses!
 

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